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I spoke to executive team yesterday after their earnings call. A few things they said seem worth passing on in light of the company's ongoing effort to buy and its plans for its internal R&D.

Do the three businesses – (1) innovative drugs, (2) vaccines, oncology, and consumer health, and (3) established products – have scale to stand on their own? Pfizer CEO Ian Read corrected me that there would be two businesses, a combination of the first two and a global established products business. “We haven't taken the decision. It's very premature as to whether they should be separated,” Read said.

I asked why newer drugs, particularly rheumatoid arthritis pill Xeljanz and Eliquis, for preventing strokes in atrial fibrillation, were not selling better. “I think the Street is locked in with a view of the late 90s when it was easy to penetrate markets,” Read said. “The growth rates on Eliquis and Xeljanz are good.” He pointed out that Eliquis is gaining share versus Xarelto, and said that for Xeljanz convincing patients and physicians takes time and data.

What about the AstraZeneca deal? Read brushed off questions about how many layoffs would result form the deal, or where. “It's too early to draw direct line comparisons to other acquisitions," he said. But Read, R&D chief Mikael Dolsten, and Chief Financial Officer Frank D'Amelio all bristled when I asserted that mega-mergers are bad for R&D productivity, and that Pfizer might sacrificing research productivity for business reasons.

“I think it dramatically improves R&D because it takes the substrates both are working on. [When] products may be similar, it picks the best products,” Read said. He said Pfizer would aim “to do this quickly and efficiently and maintain the best and not lose time.”

Dolsten added: “Productivity is not spending more and getting less. R&D productivity means you bring more for patients for shareholders and our company.” He said that the merger would give Pfizer needed breadth in oncology. “You need a company that will address that lung cancer is not one disease but maybe five diseases.” D'Amelio added: “It’s decision making, it’s speed of decision making, and clarity of decision making.” Pfizer certainly has that.